


A Fateful Walk

by Pilesshipper13



Series: Prodigal Daughter [1]
Category: Prodigal Son (TV 2019)
Genre: Female Malcolm Bright, Gen, Genderswap, Hybrid AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-26
Updated: 2019-11-26
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:40:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21573889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pilesshipper13/pseuds/Pilesshipper13
Summary: Calum makes an unlikely friend.
Series: Prodigal Daughter [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1555045
Comments: 2
Kudos: 21





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, so I was sooooo happy that Nico showed back up in the show and I really hope that they use him more, so this is my version of what happens. And I really like hybrid AUs. In case you didn't know, a hybrid AU is where some people in the world have animal traits, like ears and tails. Calum is a wolf (like her father).

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Calum wakes up holding a knife and Eve at her feet, she takes a walk to she doesn't know where. She ends up at Nico Stavros' shop as he's locking up.

Calum wakes up with a knife in her hand and Eve cowering at her feet. She drops the knife and it lands point-down, quivering, in her floor. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Calum backs up. "I tie myself down for a reason, I-" Calum cuts herself off. "You should go."

Eve gathers her things and keeps giving her fearful glances before she cuts her a wide berth and leaves. Calum buries her face in her hands. She gets dressed and starts to walk.

"Oh, fuck no," a voice says. She looks up.

"Oh. Hello, Nico."

"Hey, I got you an interview, now leave me alone."

"I'm sorry. I didn't even know where I was," she looks around. 

"Really. So you walk to my shop just as I'm closing up by coincidence?" She looks- he's holding keys.

"I...had a rough night."

Nico glances at his shop.

"Not that kind of rough," Calum chuckles without humor. She stifles a sob.

"Are you seriously going to cry on me?" Nico's voice is an odd mixture of resignation, anger, and confusion.

"No." Calum takes a few deep breaths. "No. I'm fine. I guess I'll just...go home." She turns.

"Wait," Nico sighs. "I can't let you walk home alone like this. God only knows how you managed to get here at this time of night without getting jumped."

"I'm fine."

"I'm walking you home." That must be his Dom voice, because it makes Calum pause.

"Ok." They start walking. "I'm glad they reattached your hand," she says.

"Me too. Not full range of motion, but 80%."

"That's excellent," Calum smiles.

"Yep. They couldn't believe that you chopped it off with an axe. They said it was the best place to cut it off. Considering."

"I did say I knew what I was doing."

"You did. It was scary as fuck but hey. You saved my life."

"It's my job. Kind of." They walk in silence for a few minutes.

"You walked this far?"

"It gets farther."

"Where do you live?" She tells him. "Holy shit, Bright! You walked all that way without getting hit by a motherfucking car?"

"I guess."

"Are you ok to spend the night by yourself?"

"Yes. I'll tie myself down this time."

"Is that why you said you needed headboard restraints? You sleepwalk?"

"No. Night terrors," she explains, not looking at him. "It's a safety thing. Though it hasn't been working lately- recently I managed to rip one restraint free of the wall and throw myself out of a window." He walks in front of her, grabs her shoulders, and stares at her. His grip is admirable, considering the fact that his hand has been reattached. 

"Holy shit, you're not joking. Are you ok?"

"Yes, Nico. I'm fine."

He searches her eyes. "I'm staying with you."

"That is entirely unnecessary-"

"I. Am staying. With you."

"I'm not your sub, Nico. You can't boss me around."

"Watch me."

Calum laughs, throwing her head back. It morphs into hysterical sobs. Nico gathers her against himself, stroking her hair and smoothing down her ears. "It's ok. I'm here." She clutches at him, desperate. "I'm staying." She nods and settles. He pulls away just slightly and they walk the rest of the way with his arm around her shoulders and her head on his shoulder. She lets them up.

Calum goes into the bathroom to change and roots around in her dresser, finding some big sleeping pants. She extends them and Nico takes them. "Thanks." She waits for the inevitable question- does it have a hole for her tail? With non-hybrids, there's often confusion as to where the tail comes out. "I know your tail comes out the base of your spine," Nico smiles. "I had some hybrid clients."

"I don't know how comfortable the couch is," Calum admits. "There are spare sheets and pillows in there," she points at the closet. "I'm tired. I'm going to bed."

"Bright?" She looks back at him. "What's your first name?"

"Call me Calum."

"Then goodnight, Calum."

"Goodnight, Nico."

The next morning, Calum startles awake as usual. She flips the catch on her restraints with her thumbs and takes out her mouth guard, moving to the bathroom and rinsing it out before she dries it and puts it in its case. She glances into the living room and Nico is still sleeping on her couch, his bare chest rising and falling slowly. She starts her morning routine, missing her music. She gets so focused that Nico standing there startles her.

"You do this every morning?"

"I normally have music playing, but I didn't want to wake you. But I suppose I did that anyway."

"No, this is the time I usually wake up. Could I use your shower?"

"Sure. Down the hall on your left. There's also a pack of toothbrushes in the hall closet."

"Thanks, Calum." He goes and Calum starts getting ready. When she's almost done, her phone rings. She looks at the caller ID before she answers.

"Gil. How can I help?"

"Got a fresh one for you."

"Alright. Let me just finish some things up and text me the address, I'll make my way over."

"You're actually on my way, I'll pick you up."

"Gil, that's not necessary-"

"I'm already on your street. See ya, Bright." Gil hangs up.

"What is it with men and thinking they can boss me around," Calum wonders aloud before she pulls her card for the day. _I will let others take care of me_ _._ "Oh, fuck you," she grumbles. She sighs and someone buzzes her apartment. She presses the button. "Yes?"

"It's me, kid."

"Come on up."

Calum lets Gil up and grabs her coat. She takes her spare key out and lays it on the counter, grabbing paper and writing a note. _Had to work. Lock up when you're done, I'll come get the key later._ Gil comes up just as she's debating leaving her number. She blocks the note with her body as she turns and Gil raises his eyebrow. He opens his mouth to ask when he must register the shower running.

"Do you have company?"

"Yes."

"Eve?"

"No."

"Then who?"

Calum doesn't want to tell him. "Calum, thanks for that, I needed-" Nico says, coming out. Calum looks back and he has a towel around his hips and is running his hands through his wet hair. "Oh. Hi."

"Mr. Stavros," Gil asks.

"Nico, please," he says. "Calum, I can get ready if you want."

"No, no. Take your time. This is a spare key, just lock up when you're done. I'll come get the key later."

"Ok. I'll leave my number."

"Alright."

"Bye."

"Goodbye."

Gil watches their exchange, blessedly silent. Calum steers him out and locks the door behind them.

"Can I ask you what the fuck is going on, Calum?"

Calum sighs. "I had another nightmare about the girl in the box. She asked how I could possibly find her if i didn't remember her. She started strangling me. I grabbed a knife and started slashing. When I woke up, Eve was cowering on the floor."

"You and Eve spent the night together?"

"Yes."

"And how does Nico factor into this?"

"After Eve left, I went into a daze. I woke up at Nico's shop as he was locking up. He offered to walk me home."

"Did you two," Gil trails off.

"No. He slept on the couch."

"This will get complicated, kid."

"I know, Gil."

"Ok. Let me know how it shakes out."

"I always do."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico is nicer than anyone should be.

Calum goes home. Nico had neatly folded his sheets and left them on the couch, the pillow stacked on top. She looks at the note she had left and finds a neatly printed phone number. She sends him a quick text. _Where are you?_

 _My shop._ She goes and he's just locking up again. He extends her key without a word and she takes it, pocketing it. "Thank you. You didn't have to do that for me."

"The state you were in last night, yeah I did. Listen, I was a pro dom. You don't leave a submissive like that after a scene. You were seriously out of your own head."

"I was," she agrees. "And I do appreciate your kindness. It's not something most people would do. Less people would do it considering how we know each other."

"Yeah, well," Nico smiles. "In case you ever do need a new headboard restraint, drop by. I might charge you a bit more now that I've seen your apartment, though."

Calum laughs. She needed that. "Sounds like a plan. Goodbye, Nico."

"Bye, Calum."

Calum goes home.

Calum works the case Gil had given her the day he saw Nico at her apartment and finishes it. She's just settling down for the night when her phone dings with a text. She grabs it and looks. Nico. _Hey. This might be weird, but do you want to go for a drink? I had a crappy day._

Calum pauses, debating, when another text comes in. _Not like a date._

That settles it. She texts back her reply- _where?_

He tells her the name of a bar and she gets dressed, going. She finds him sitting at the bar. She sits next to him.

"Hey," he greets, looking at her.

"Hey. So, do you want to talk or drink?'

"Ask me that after I've had a beer or two."

"Sure."

Nico drinks and Calum sips at a martini. After his second beer, as promised, he starts to open up. "I ran into some people from the community. They know why I switched careers, and the pity in their eyes," he shakes his head.

"I'm sorry, Nico. I hate pity, too."

"Yeah? What does a rich girl like you have to be pitied for?" The words are cruel, but there's no real heat behind them. Nico is just upset and defensive. But still, the question makes Calum pause. _Plenty._ "Shit. I'm sorry, ignore me, I'm drunk."

"No, it's fine. I'm um. My father is a very famous um," she trails off.

"You don't have to tell me," Nico says gently, leaning in closer. Calum takes her phone out and brings up an article of her father's arrest and slides it across the bar to him. She watches him carefully as he focuses buzzed eyes on the words and then his gaze snaps back to hers. "That's your father?"

"Yes." She prepares for the explosion, maybe even a punch. Once people found out about who she's related to, she was often beat up in school.

"Shit." He slides the phone back. "I propose a toast." Calum carefully tries to read him, but Nico is surprisingly difficult. 

"Ok," Calum draws out.

"To fucked up lives," he says, holding his beer aloft. She laughs.

"To fucked up lives," she agrees, and they cheer.

They spend several more rounds together until they're both giggly and leaning into each other. "We should stop," Calum says.

"We should. Alright," Nico says, gesturing the bartender over. "Check, please."

They get it and normally Calum would take it, but her reflexes have been slowed down by alcohol. Nico puts his card over the total and hands it back to the bartender. "At least let me leave the tip," Calum says.

"Sure."

The check comes back and Nico lets her see the total to tip a proper 20% in cash. Nico gets up first and he lists heavily. Calum laughs and gets up, reaching for him. They lean into each other, him with an arm around her shoulders and her supporting him with an arm around his back.

They get into a cab and Calum provides her address. She watches the play of the streetlights through the glass window and rotates her ears back and forth to the rhythm. It's something she was taught to do, to strengthen the muscles. She doesn't want to think about who taught her it. When they get to Calum's apartment, she looks at Nico. "Goodnight," she wishes.

"I'll walk you up," he says, getting out. He uses the cab to support himself so he can talk to the driver, and Calum totters to her door. Nico walks up to her and the cab drives away. 

"Do you want to stay the night again," Calum asks, slightly swaying. They resume their walking position and help each other up the stairs.

"Yeah. That ok?"

"Yes." Calum fumbles with her keys but manages to let them in. She takes off her heels and puts them neatly away. Nico flops directly on the couch and settles in. Calum gets ready for bed and then sits on the couch, pulling Nico's shoes off his feet. She puts a sheet over him and goes to bed.


End file.
